SPRINGVILLE – The gymnasium at Springville Community Academy now has an official name; Bob and Mary Phillips Gymnasium, named after two beloved Springville residents.
The couple married 60 years before Mary’s passing on Oct. 11, 2022, both spent significant time serving as Perry Township Trustee.
As trustee, Bob played a key role in the township obtaining the former Springville Elementary School building after North Lawrence Community Schools closed the facility in 2020, ultimately leading to the inception of both of Lawrence County’s charter schools, SCA and Lawrence County Independent Schools.
As trustee, Bob was quick to recognize that Indiana statute required a school district to offer a township control of a school building within its area, should the building no longer be utilized for educational purposes if the land was originally donated to the district for that purpose. Through that, he eventually secured the building for Perry Township and began working with others to open LCIS there.
Former LCIS board chairman and current SCA board president Albert Cross said that he feels Bob’s actions to reclaim the building forced the hand of officials in Indian Creek Township, spurring them to reclaim the former Fayetteville Elementary School, which eventually became the home of LCIS.
The decision was made at the time to shift the K-8 charter to Fayetteville because of concerns related to 5 acres of land at the Springville property still owned by NLCS that they were not required to relinquish to the township.
Bob and others received their wish to return a school to the community on Mon. Aug. 8, 2022, when SCA officially opened its doors to students for the first time.
“That was when we were trying to put together LCIS. And see, Bob, as soon as they announced that the school was closed, he was one of those that was right on top of it. We were still having our first organization meetings, if you want to call them that, for what became LCIS. We’re talking February or March of 2020. And the school board took their action to close the buildings on Jan. 6 of 2020,” Cross recalled
“So, you know, Bob came out swinging right off the bat and because Bob knew, that in the case of Springville, he knew that as a township trustee, he had the option on that building. They couldn’t do anything with it. Until he said, ‘no, the township doesn’t want it,” he continued.
Cross said that Phillips planned to step down as trustee earlier than he did, which was in Dec. of 2022, due to health issues but he stayed in the role long enough to ensure the school could be opened after the township board initially voted in June of 2021 to accept the building from NLCS.
Phillips was unable to attend an official dedication ceremony at the school on Jan. 27, as he is currently hospitalized and seriously ill, as he deals with fluid built up around his heart, according to Cross.
Mary worked as Perry Township trustee for 20 years and also as township assessor from January 1990 – 2007. She spent 20 years working in local pharmacies. The couple also owned Ro-Mar Grocery from 1978-1983.
